To ascend, I had no choice but to create games

However, as a recognized noble, he relied on his strong will to shake off this influence and turned to look in other directions, asking, “If I’m not mistaken, you must be an Outer God, right?”

In the world within the Heavenly Tao network, every life form is a battery of faith for the gods, almost all of whom are aware of the existence of gods and can adeptly differentiate between Gods, Evil Gods, and Outer Gods.

Gods are the builders and users of the Heavenly Tao network, whereas Evil Gods are gods devoured by the Shadows, directly transformed into a part of the Shadows.

Outer Gods, on the other hand, are gods who have wandered here from beyond the Shadow Area. Some of them eventually join the Heavenly Tao network and become part of the gods here; others attempt to destroy this place, eventually sparking a war among the gods.

Therefore, the purpose of an Outer God is crucial, and every Outer God who manages to travel through the Shadows to this place and is not corrupted into an Evil God possesses tremendous power.

The gods within the Heavenly Tao network may not fear Outer Gods, after all, many among them were once Outer Gods.

But not the Squirrel Tribe.

Their homeworld had fallen deep into the Shadows. If a divine war were to break out, they would be the first cannon fodder, and in the end, only one or two squirrels might be left as genetic prototypes, preserved in the Genetic Museum at the center of the Heavenly Tao network, but they may never see the light of day again.

As Sir Big Tail anxiously awaited the outcome, No. 2 leaned in and whispered, “Don’t be nervous, my boss isn’t an Outer God. Or rather, don’t insult my boss by calling him an Outer God.”

“You’ve started worshiping an Outer God!” Sir Big Tail exclaimed in shock, as the gun barrel swiveled to point at No. 2, “I’ll blast you to smithereens, you cat-mothered thing!”

“Calm down! And as a noble, don’t curse so filthy without cause!”

As the standoff began, Fang Cheng cast Immortal Spell on the three squirrels to protect them, then stepped out of the spaceship and walked to the edge of the ship’s array.

The Squirrel Tribe’s homeworld, Songta Planet, is a planet similar in size to Earth.

Because of a recent minor collapse in the Heavenly Tao network, Songta Planet was directly exposed to the Shadows and devoured by them.

However, the moment the collapse of the Heavenly Tao network was detected, the King quickly activated Ancient Technology, exiling the entire planet.

Although it seemed to remain in its original position, its planetary surface was now covered with countless spatial folds, each fold potentially encompassing hundreds of light-years of distance, separating it from the Shadows through spatial folding.

Beyond that, the whole planet was fragmented by folds, making the homeworld appear to be in its original location, but in reality, it had been stretched into an almost two-dimensional existence.

This device had to be switched off manually, and upon closure, a mission was required to venture inside to rescue the trapped King and other members of the Squirrel Tribe.

After studying the folds for a while, Fang Cheng realized that this was purely a feat of technology, but it already had nearly the effect of Immortal Spell.

Highly developed technology seemed akin to Immortal Spell, and this further deepened Fang Cheng’s judgment that Immortal Spell and science were two sides of the same coin.

Having made his judgment, he first returned to his apartment to pour himself a cup of Spiritual Tea. After drinking it, he meditated for an hour to rest, and then returned to the ship’s cabin.

By then, Sir Big Tail and No. 2 were almost done arguing.

One thought the other had become a lackey for an Outer God; the other thought the old-timer was too stubborn and only fit for retirement. The two old squirrels were just short of coming to blows, but due to certain considerations, neither made a move.

When Fang Cheng returned, the two squirrels had finally argued themselves out and were sitting on the ground, gasping for air.

Sipping Spiritual Tea on the side, Fang Cheng asked, “Who has command of the Rescue Committee?”

“Temporarily, it’s me,” Sir Big Tail answered instinctively.

But immediately after, he covered his mouth and said seriously, “But I won’t yield. I will try my best to adhere to my own will and wishes, and never do anything that goes against my conscience.”

“You…”

No. 2 leaped up, about to engage in another three-hundred-round debate for his boss, but saw Fang Cheng gesture for him to sit down.

After pacifying No. 2, Fang Cheng said to Sir Big Tail, “Here’s the thing, rescuing your homeworld is not difficult. I have a fast solution and a somewhat slower solution.”

Although he was still full of caution against Fang Cheng, the desire to rescue his homeworld ultimately prevailed.

Furthermore, Sir Big Tail, who was well-versed in game theory, knew there were actually just two possibilities: either Fang Cheng had hostile intentions, or he did not.

If there were hostile intentions, then the divine battle would ultimately be unavoidable, and the squirrels would end up as cannon fodder—eventually a pair of them would be sent to the Genetic Museum, becoming the final genetic samples.

Without hostile intentions, they simply had to obey Fang Cheng’s words obediently, and maybe, just maybe, by mixing into the Heavenly Tao network, the Squirrel Tribe might even receive a blessing from the Gods, securing a divine presence in their favor.

Therefore, Sir Big Tail realized the best option was to cooperate with Fang Cheng obediently.

Thus, it didn’t care whether Fang Cheng was an Outer God or not, and instead turned to the side and asked, “What’s the quickest plan?”

“I’ll take action personally and retrieve your people, which might take about tens of seconds. However, there will be a small price to pay.”

On hearing that the problem could be resolved in mere seconds, Sir Big Tail was overjoyed but still asked sensibly, “What’s the price?”

“An Immortal’s intervention doesn’t come without consequences. I personally don’t mind, but you might be affected by these consequences, possibly resulting in several hundred years of bad luck. But at least your homeworld would be returned.”

“Um, how bad can this bad luck get?”

“Asteroid impacts once a year, the onset of an ice age arriving sooner, increased activity of solar spots causing intense electromagnetic disturbances, and about a tenfold increase in the mutation probability of unidentified viruses.”

With every issue Fang Cheng mentioned, Sir Big Tail shuddered.

It had thought the price might involve becoming a follower or lackey to Fang Cheng but now realized its thoughts had been somewhat naive.

These days, it seemed not even dogs were wanted; in fact, they might even be considered a nuisance.

Swallowing hard, Sir Big Tail asked, “What are the other options?”

“I can send a group in. They are not afraid of death, and their skills are extraordinary. They will rescue your companions safely and might even push back the Shadows a bit.”

“Really? Is that possible?”

“Hmm. Wait a moment, let me deal with the Shadows first. This part is compensation for my employees, so you don’t need to worry about the consequences.”

Fang Cheng pulled out safety scissors and cut around Songta Planet, and an incredible scene unfolded before Sir Big Tail.

All of the Shadows surrounding Songta Planet disappeared in an instant; even without the protection of the Heavenly Tao network, the Shadows still couldn’t penetrate this area.

However, the Shadows that had entered the spatial folds still existed—these Shadows had fused with the folds, making them very difficult to clear.

Seeing Fang Cheng easily dispel the surrounding Shadows, Sir Big Tail was dumbfounded.

The Shadows were a major concern for the Gods, the biggest obstacle keeping them from leaving this place, and most hoped to depart quickly, escaping this cursed world, but they nearly always failed.

Yet, Sir Big Tail had not expected the Outer God before it to be so powerful, capable of breaking through the Shadows with ease. This display of power made it feel that being Fang Cheng’s dog would be a stroke of happiness.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Fang Cheng didn’t seem interested in that.

To prevent the Shadows from further corroding Songta Planet, Fang Cheng pocketed these particular Shadows and then began arranging things around the planet.

This time, he needed gamers to help rescue the squirrels, clear the Shadows, and search for instruments. It all seemed quite dangerous and potentially dull, not really something that could be used to prove one’s path to divinity.

Therefore, Fang Cheng abandoned the idea of using this game to confirm his path and was content as long as it wasn’t too boring.

After applying the techniques he had learned around the folds of Songta Planet, Fang Cheng finished and reviewed his work, then frowned.

Indeed.

No matter how one looked at it, this game was just too dull.